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2008 Season: 5 - 4

Game 9 - May 14, 2008

Scripps 13
LJCD 5

IF I SMILE, TELL ME SOME BAD NEWS, BEFORE I LAUGH, AND ACT LIKE A FOOL - Pete Townshend (the who)

Smiles all around on this great day of lacrosse, of course. The only bad news was we were missing the happy faces of some key players. Tyler "The Gazelle" Anderson was on assignment for the government, Dominic "Howling Wolf" Thomas was on vacation in the Alps practicing his yodeling, and Sean "The Beast" Keaveney played the SICK card once again and took his brother along for the ride. I guess if one twin gets sick, buy law the other one has to be sick as well. I suppose the annual trip to Washington D.C. simply took too much out of them. Information Overload!

Anyway, the loss of so many Scripps Kids had me worried, and I was not sure how the team would react; but everything panned out just fine. WE SCORED 13 GOALS! The most yet so far this season. According to our stat man, J.P. "Possum Stew" Lapeyre, we shot the ball 36 times to LJCD's 22. Not Bad! There were some bizarre goals scored by us, but we will get to that later.

With "The Beast" out, I decided to share the face off duties primarily with "Rouge Wave" Huckleberry and Kyle "Corncob" Harries at the start, with some help down the road from "Dizzy Rabbit" McCalley and a few others. Both Kyle and Matthew fought admirably, winning 3 out of 6 face off attempts each. In the first quarter, the first 3 shots of the game were anything but pleasant, what with 2 hitting the goalie in the head and the other one going wide. The 4th shot by Tyler "Barking Aardvark" Sutton rang off the post so loud, it actually hurt my ears. What's up, guy?

Just when things looked bleak on the offensive end, it was "Dizzy Rabbit" to the rescue with a well placed cut down the middle, a pass from Chris "Sea Lion" Lapeyre and a shot to the back of the net. This started an avalanche of goals by the boys in blue, who racked up 5 goals in a row off 5 shots. Now, that's what I'm talking about. "Sea Lion" Lapeyre followed Jack's lead with the first of four goals on the day. Then it was Hunter "Grizzly Bear" Hughes, who thought it would be appropriate to drive as far to the right as possible on a sweep, giving himself virtually no angle to score, only to ricochet a cannon blast off the goalie's helmet and into the cage. I don't think I have ever seen him smile so much after that went in. "Did you see that, coach? Did you see that? Huh? Huh?"

"Whoa! . . . Chatty Cathy! Hold your string. I think we all saw and heard that one. NICE SHOT!"

Who knew "The Griz" had so much emotion. Anyway, as the 1st quarter turned into the 2nd, the shots doubled up (7 in the 1st, then 15 total in the 2nd). Chris started the run, then it was Riley "Angry Bull" Sanchez who took it Coast-to-Coast for a shot and score. Not to be out done, "Rogue Wave" fired one in himself, followed by 2 from "Corncob" Harries, assisted by Christy. But it was the wild one, Ryan "The Bad Badger" Hawblitzel, who finally put all that practice to work and cranked out a left handed gem to the lower right corner. He's been practicing that shot the past 2 days, and it was fun to see it pay off for him. NICE JOB, Ryno!

At half time, there wasn't much to say; and believe me, nobody wanted to hear me say anything anyway. We were up on LJCD by the score of 9-2, and I knew that once Josh "Happy Feet" Marsaglia woke up from his nap to spell Mikey in cage, we had it locked up. Where Mikey only faced 6 shots in the 1st half, 'Jungle-Boy' Josh ended up taking a peppering: 10 shots alone in the 3rd with 9 saves! Awesome!

On the offensive end, there seemed to be a contest between "Corncob" and "Sea Lion" for points. Both lads used the field and their teammates wisely to their advantage scoring 2 goals apiece and tying each other at 4 goals on the afternoon. Kyle actually won a face off and streaked down field to the goal on a fast break, but instead of LJCD jumping out on him, they laid back in awe and simply watched him dance about with the ball and finally rip it in. Not much defense from the Torrey's on that one.

Where there defense struggled, ours was a thing of beauty. Ian "Tiger Shark" Eckleman and "Quiet Mammoth" Asaro held strong with the help of some fine middie 'D' from "Flying Squirrel" Dunzweiller, "Soulgrind" Pielke and Matty Huckleberry.

As the game progressed into the 4th, I let loose the "Monkey Line"; matching Riley, Mikey and Robbie at midfield. It was poetry in motion. Bad Poetry to be exact. These 3 goof balls ran around simply looking for some one to make a move, and eventually just started running into each other. That's when all the attackmen went to defense and the defense went to attack. I was very impressed with young Garon "Thunder Guns" Deffley, who gathered the ball, then managed to duck, dip, dance and dodge his way through 5 guys to clear it over the mid line. It was jaw dropping to say the least. After a record day of scoring for the "Sea Lion" (4 goals, 3 assists), Christy decided to get a taste of the Darkside and see what it be like to actually SLASH someone himself. Thank goodness his mother was there with the camera. I can't wait to see a print of the tough guy serving a penalty.

As the game was coming to a close, there was one strange moment that occurred. A LJCD player had just won the face off and for some reason ran the wrong way. Mikey was playing attack and allowed the kid to come in closer to his own goal pretending to guard him. Fortunately, "The Pitbull" used his head and timed his takeaway perfectly, turned toward the goal, shot and scored. Way to go, Mikey! You're the brains of this outfit. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

As the final whistle sounded, everyone ran towards Josh in front of the cage for the traditional pounding of the goalie. Instead of trying to flee, young Joshua just fell to ground and curled up into a little ball awaiting his fate. Way to go, bro. It was good to see the team work so well together for having been away for so long. Let's not forget that we have a big challenge ahead of us with Rancho Santa Fe coming into our yard on Sunday. It's gonna be a hot one, since we tee off at noon, so everybody hydrate properly before the game and rest up. No Skate Parks in the morning, please. We need to have a good showing if we are to make the playoffs!

Peace, Coach Smitty Game 7 - April 26, 2008


Scripps 1
Mustangs 13

DAMN YANKEES!!
Well, we got this game out of the way. The best team in the county played us on Saturday, and they showed why they are the best. Their boys were big, fast and extremely skilled. We sure had a difficult time keeping up with them. I really was hoping we would play a little better than we did, but it took awhile for us to find ourselves. I won't sugar coat it. We played scared in the 1st half, and it showed. As a coach, I tried desperately to put a fire under everyone's butts to get more out of our boys, but it seemed we could not catch up on defense. We made numerous mistakes on both ends of the field which allowed the Mustangs to control possession throughout most of the game.

Rather than focus on our ill fate, let's examine some positives. There were plenty of them, but the big one was . . . THE GOAL! It did not start from behind the cage nor on a midfield sweep; rather our only score began on our defensive end. A shot by one of the Mustang players was solidly deflected by the stick of Riley "Angry Bull" Sanchez which sent the ball loose upon the dirt. The scuffle for the ball ended when Adam "Rhino" Keaveney found some anger within himself and tossed aside a few Mustangs to gather up the loose ball and charge it down field. With many of their horses in pursuit, Adam put it in gear as he scissored through a check at the midfield and approached the restraining line. Rather than take the ball down any further, he successfully drew the defense up and out, leaving a young Garon Deffley wide open on the left wing. A very accurate pass was made and "Thunder Guns" made the most of it. With a quick hitch in his step to pull the goalie out of position, he uncorked one. The low rocket shot hit the bottom right side of the net to bring what fans who could stand the heat up and out if their chairs and on to their feet. Yes! We scored . . . Finally! Who would have thought this young 'Kick-Flipper' had it in him to pull it off and save us from certain doom? Thanks Garon.

Not do be outdone, there was another great moment when a tired, but very determined, Ian Eckleman made a statement of his own. Snagging a ground ball in his defensive end, the "Tigershark" quickly showed he had had enough of this take away business from the Mustangs. He found his second wind and made the call to clear the ball himself. While flirting with the far sideline and taking massive punishment along the way, Ian successfully moved the ball past the midline and into the hands of the attack much to the joy and satisfaction of his coach. I was actually viewing the whole scene like it was a horror movie; peering through my fingers as my hands covered my face. I haven't done something like that since I watched the movie, ALIEN when I was a kid. They said, "In space, no one can hear you scream". Well, at Scripps, "Everyone can hear you cheer!" Nice job, Ian. Keep it up.

As the game ended, it was apparent that a few Scripps Kids took this shellacking by the Mustangs real hard. I know. I was of them. I don't know what it is about that Encinitas organization, but somehow they trigger the Darkside in me, and sometimes I take out on the refs and our boys. Some of our lads struggled with the sour gloom as well; but being the coach I am, I knew one way to cure it: ICE CREAM!! And lots of it. When all was said and done, the smiles were flowing as the Popsicles and Creamsicles that coach supplied brought back all their smiles.

The following practice on Sunday was very light with only 12 kids showing up, including a very upbeat, Joshua Marsaglia, with a fresh brace covering his broken thumb. The heat was insane, so all we did was practice short and long passes w/ no gear, followed by a long funny game of WAR BALL. Yes, WAR BALL is back on.

We need a big practice Monday night my friends, so let's get everyone there. We have Carmel Valley on Wednesday; a team we are dead even with on paper. I say, "Let's get ready to Rock 'Em!" - Coach Smitty

Game 6 - April 23, 2008

Scripps 10
RB (D1B) 4

"MY...MY...MY...I'M SO HAPPY!! I WANT TO JOIN IN THE BAND!"
- Led Zeppelin

Yes! The boys are back. And so is their coach. In the immortal words of The Reverend Jimmy Lee Farnsworth, . . . "Demons Out!" Following the wild Coronado game two weeks back, we as a team struggled to win a game as well as lose one with some ill attitudes to boot. But no more. We were in need of some FUN, and we sure found a way to find it. Even though we were up against a D1B team, it is my opinion that the lads from RB were a better group skill wise than the PQ squad we could barely keep up with last Saturday. We became a TEAM again and I cannot express how happy I am to say this. Now, let's get to the action:

The afternoon began with a long delay while both coaches did everything in their power to keep their boys focused while an unexpected Track Meet was finishing up. Why the High School hosts the Discus Throw on our field, I will never know. One of our kids was actually nailed by a discus during the pre-game chalk talk. Fortunately, it was blocked by his lacrosse stick. I instantly took that as a good omen.

The whole game was a testing stage, with many players finding themselves at different positions than they are accustomed to. We needed a change, and I was happy to see everyone open to the idea. It was just the spark we needed, and it turned out to be quite successful.

Thinking back to the early days of 2006, when they were all 5th & 6th graders, I decided to "Put the Band Back Together" (so to speak), by reuniting "The Sea Lion" and Tyler "The Barking Aardvark" Sutton with "The Griz", Hunter Hughes, at the attack. That worked out quite well with Chris locking down a record day with 3 goals and 2 assists. "The Aardvark" tossed in 3 goals himself, assisted by "The Sea Lion" and "Corncob" Harries, who impressed everyone with his full field play at middie in the first half. "The Griz" joined in with a goal and an assist as well.

"Rogue Wave" Huckleberry traded spots with Dominic "Howling Wolf" Thomas at defense and displayed some outstanding talent running the clears and getting the ball to the attack. "Dom Dom" ran the midfield very well. He actually showed some incredible speed and agility driving down the center forcing a 'Draw n Dump' to Chris late in the 2nd quarter for his first assist of the season. Our beloved "Pitbull" was loud and in charge while owning his crease, letting in just one goal from RB's top guy, Austin Ekeroth (he scored all 4 of their goals by the way). Ryan was everywhere, along with "Flying Squirrel" Dunzweiler and Tyler "The Gazelle" Anderson. One big highlight was when "Dizzy Rabbit" McCalley showed some moxie and drove hard to the cage and slammed home his first goal of the season. "Way to go, Jack!"

I let the lads control the line up in the last quarter. As "Happy Feet" Marsaglia took to the goal keeping duties, I was convinced into teaming up Robbie, Riley and Mikey on a midline. It sure was funny as heck to watch. That and cycling "The Sea Lion" and his friends, "Corncob", "Aardvark" and "The Griz" on defense. The one who really impressed me was "The Quiet Mammoth", Sean Asaro, with the long pole at defense. We will see a lot of this the rest of the year. He was AWESOME! I believe we have found his new spot.

As time was running out, the sideline pecking order was jostling about like mad. It's too bad we could not play another quarter. The game ended with something I thought I would never say: "Goal by Michael Henry, assisted by Ian Eckleman!" How does something like that happen? As the whistle blew to end the game, the amount of energy remaining was evident as young Joshua ran for his life trying to out dodge the traditional gang tackle on the goalie. Our passing was great. A total of 11 different players tried facing off and the results were a bit sour. "The Beast" is certainly assured his #1 spot, since we only won 5 out of 18 on the day. We did have more GB's than RB, out scoping them 25 to 14. Excellent! Keep it up. I am so proud of all of us.

Thanks to JP Lapeyre for doing stats and the Mom of "Soul Grind" Torben for keeping the water flowing. Great job at the bench from Momma "Griz" and Momma "Mammoth". You guys are getting good at the table work. And of course, Momma "Sea Lion" for all that she does. You are the best, Erin!

We all know who we play this Saturday, so let's load up on the carbs for dinner and get plenty of rest. Game time is 9am. I have seen this team play numerous times already, and I am confident we can take it to them. Let's get ready to ROCK!

Coach Smitty

Game 3 - April 12, 2008

Scripps 5
Coronado 6

HE WHO RIDES A PONY MUST SOME DAY FALL

What a great game! I realize the final outcome is not what the Scripps Kids wanted nor what everyone expected with us having the lead at 5-1 late in the 3rd quarter; but the comeback by the boys from Coronado was impressive and something everyone should admire. Their play late in the game proved how good they were and that they deserved that victory. Everyone should keep in mind that this was not some unmentionable team we have had past poor relations with. This was Coronado. We lost to the ?Good Guys? of lacrosse. I am as proud of them as I am proud of my boys. Heck, every kid on that island rides a skateboard and has a lacrosse stick, just like us. Even better is the fact that some of those boys were considered ?Scripps Kids? for a weekend and enjoyed the sport of lacrosse with us as teammates while playing at the SDYLF. That just makes the game more exciting. Going back to last year, I actually remember a contest against the same group of boys from Coronado when we matched up in the D1B bracket. We lost that game 9-1. I would say we have improved tremendously, and judging from Coronado?s reaction to the final outcome, it says a lot about our program. Comeback aside, their win against us meant so much to them, it only exemplifies the fact that they recognize that we are a good team and they respect us. We can at least take some consolation in knowing that. Granted, this loss is a knock on our over all record and playoff contention, but I believe in the long run it is a good thing.

I know it may seem strange to read such an upbeat commentary about a loss, especially from a coach like myself; but this type of ending to a game only helps to strengthen the old cliché, ?Without losing, you cannot appreciate victory?. It certainly hasn?t escaped me that most of our Scripps lads took this loss HARD, and I know nothing I could have told them at the time would have made them feel any better. It hurts and now they know how it feels. Just ask Poway how they felt after they lost to us in similar fashion. Those kids were devastated. I have always said, ?Lacrosse is Life?. The lessons learned through lacrosse on the fields of battle early on are carried with these boys the rest of their lives. Knowing what it means to win and knowing what it means to lose are crucial to their development. Winning with honor and losing with dignity go hand in hand. Recognizing and learning from mistakes will only help strengthen each individual and benefit the team in the long run, especially understanding that no lead in a game is ever safe.

Anyway, enough soap box talk. Let?s get to some highlights. For the 3rd game in a row, Scripps scored the first goal. That has never happened before. It was ?The Sea Lion?, Chris Lapeyre, who slammed home the first of 2 on the day from a clearing pass by defenseman, Robbie ?Crazy Coyote? Lewis. Coronado answered quickly with a great quick stick shot by Bobby ?Snake Charmer? Ferrar, assisted by Jack ?Freestyle Walking Dude? Perkins. The 1st quarter continued and found Scripps pulling ahead with a great wrap around low post shot by Kyle ?Corncob? Harries followed by ?The Beast?, Sean Keaveney, who sliced down the middle through numerous opponents like a samurai swordsman.

The 2nd quarter was all about the defense. Scripps held off any and all advances by Coronado to score by limiting them to only 2 shots. The efforts by Ian ?Tiger Shark? Eckelman, Adam ?Bag of Donuts? Keaveney, Riley ?Angry Bull? Sanchez, ?Crazy Coyote? and recent pull from D1B, Alex ?Salsa Verde? Vasconcellos were spectacular. The opposite end of the field was dominated as well, where we shot the day lights out. However, aside from a lone goal by ?The Sea Lion? assisted by ?Thunder Guns?, Garon Deffley, 7 out of 8 shots went WIDE of the cage. This eventually would haunt us in the end. We have got to shoot the ball better, boys! The half ended with Scripps up 4-1.

The 3rd quarter was a battle of the midfielders, where numerous ground balls were fought hard for from both teams. Matthew ?Rogue Wave? Huckleberry, Torben ?Soul Grind? Pielke and Jack ?Dizzy Rabbit? McCalley helped to keep Coronado at bay. After a shot and score by Tyler ?Cyclops? Sutton but Scripps up 5-1, the level of play got very physical. It was Coronado?s, George ?The Torpedo? Bailey and John ?Running Buffalo? Jamison who started the momentum shift. A quick answer to the back of the net by ?Snake Charmer? Ferrar put the score at 5-2 and they never looked back.

The 4th quarter began with a another goal from Bobby Ferrar to put the score at 5-3, followed by 2 more from ?The Torpedo? to tie the game with 2 minutes left. Upon regaining possession, Coach Parker from Coronado called a timeout to orchestrate a play. As the whistle blew, the play was run and quickly stuffed by Scripps, where ?The Beast? gobbled the ball up and then ripped down field on a fast break which was run to perfection. ?The Beast? to ?Corncob? to ?Cyclops? across the crease to ?The Sea Lion? for a quick stick shot for the win . . . but ?NOOOOOOOO?! A remarkable save by Coronado goalie, Reis ?Lunchbox? Stanley, dashed any hopes of Scripps taking the lead. A clearing pass to the midfield allowed the Islanders to set up in their offense and work the ball around for an open shot. The first shot was saved and deflected by Scripps keeper, Michael ?Pitbull? Henry. The ball eventually found its way to Bobby?s stick again, who found teammate, Nate ?One for One? Hoffmann for the shot and go ahead goal with 24 tics left on the clock. Coronado wins, and what a win it was. Congratulations!

On a follow up note, the practice today (Sunday) for Scripps D1A was surprisingly upbeat and full of smiles and fun. It seems most players put that game behind them and were happy to just be out on the field playing lacrosse. Even though Coach Smitty played in 2 games himself at ?The Jam by the Sea? in the morning and reffed 2 Pee Wee games later in the day, no level of exhaustion could ever keep him away from making sure the Lads from Scripps Ranch maintain their passion for the best game on the planet. We have two days of practice and then it on to Solana Beach to take on the scrappers of Earl Warren. Let?s make sure we are ready. - Coach Smitty

Game 2 - April 5, 2008

Scripps 4
Sweetwater 1

HERE’S MUD IN YOUR EYE Following the most insane upset over Poway D1A the previous week, the lads of Scripps Ranch looked to continue on the winning path with another Saturday morning contest against the giants from Sweetwater. Unfortunately, the winner on the day was the overly watered mud bog of a field we have come to love and cherish here at the Scripps Ranch High School. When will they stop turning the sprinklers on? In the end, the team from Scripps protected their home field with a 4-1 victory.

The first half proved to be a battle of heavy feet. From the coach’s box, I was astounded at how slow we looked as a team. But it was not just our boys that struggled; the players from Sweetwater were not having much luck either. The mud stuck to everyone’s cleats like peanut butter on the roof a dog’s mouth; fun to watch at first, but annoying after awhile. The pinnacle was when #17 from Sweetwater tripped and went head first into the biggest deepest quagmire that all the players were trying to avoid (that poor kid’s mother). Anyway, as was the case at Poway, it was “The Beast”, Sean Keaveney, who took charge on the face offs again, winning 5 of 6 on the day and gobbled up a team high 8 GB’s. This man child from Scripps showed tremendous strength and effort all game, and I could not be more pleased.

It was our attack that struck first with a great wrap around goal from “The Sea Lion”, Chris Lapeyre in the 1st, and the shots just kept on coming. At the end of the 2nd quarter, we had amassed a total of 16 shots to Sweetwater’s 5; and the score was 1-1. This statistic in particular is uncanny and enough to drive any coach to lose his mind. Since I have already lost my mind years ago, I was more concerned rather than upset. To Sweetwater’s credit, their goalie had some skill, but not that much skill. Over half our shots went right at his basket. The defense had some difficulty as well. If not for “The Pitbull”, Michael Henry, in cage, that one goal they scored might have been five. Coming up big on those point blank shots saved us, Mikey! Way to go!

After hearing a semi-frustrating halftime speech about how we were out playing these guys and had nothing to show for it, the lads got a bit more serious. We were 20 minutes away from losing a game against an opponent we should be rolling on. The team took to the field in the 3rd quarter with new found life. Within the first minute, Kyle “Corncob” Harries ripped the back of the net for the first of 2 goals on the day. With the score 2-1 in our favor, it was an unexpected drive to the cage from “The Quiet Mammoth”, Sean Asaro, who’s overhand bounce shot whiffed past the Sweetwater goal keeper to give Scripps some breathing room at 3-1. With 14 seconds left in the 3rd, a well placed pass from “The Beast” to “Corncob”, who’s low behind the back riser of a shot hit the top of the net to finish the scoring.

The 4th quarter was a battle on the ground. I don't think the ball was in the air much at all. We had only 2 shots to their none. The defense picked it up though and denied Sweetwater any chance of a comeback. Riley, “Angry Bull” Sanchez had a tremendous game, slamming down hard on opposing players’ sticks and bodying out every body he could body out. With time running out, it was Dustin “Little Lion Big Roar” Prehoden who took to the face off ‘X’, and won 2 of 2. Awesome! With the help of fellow midfielders Anthony “Tailbone” Johnson, Jacob “Road Runner” Marsaglia, Tyler “The Gazelle” Anderson and Mauricio “Flying Squirrel” Dunzweiler, the lads from Scripps Ranch held the lead to the end.

We are now 2-0 on the season with another big game this coming Saturday. The Islanders from Coronado will be here, and we need a big practice on Wednesday if we are to keep pace. If we pull off another upset this weekend, all eyes will be focused on Scripps Ranch. Let’s make it happen.

- Coach Smitty

P.S. Thanks for reloading the ball bag, boys!

Game 1 - March 29, 2008

Scripps 4 2OT
Poway 3

THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG. That’s right folks. The word is out on Scripps Lacrosse already. I spent the better part of Sunday morning reffing the “Lacrosse Plus” Middle School Tournament in Encinitas, where many of our future opponents played; and their coaches were well aware of our victory on Saturday. I sensed many are worried about their match up with us; and for good reason. This was a HUGE win!

But let us recap the game, shall we:

It was a beautiful morning at Twin Peaks MS, where the lads of Scripps Ranch welcomed back one of their long lost sons, Ryan North, to his only appearance this lacrosse season. I believe the energy level and attitude of the team was well above the norm, judging from the recent practices, and I credit young Ryan for this. At the sound of the first whistle, it was “The Beast”, Sean Keaveney, winning the first face off of the game (6 of 10 on the day). This helped set up our Red/Green “Circle the Wagons” offensive to test out Poway’s defensive aggression. Unlike last year, they pretty much let us pass the ball at will, which allowed me to give the go ahead to run the “Foghat”. The shot by Hunter “Grizzle Bear” Hughes missed the mark and Poway took it the other way with speed. What astonished me was we ran with them. Who knew we could match them. I didn't, but now I know better. A few back and forth’s by both teams with nothing to post on the scoreboard had everyone thinking that this was not going to be a run away win by Poway. A great save by Michael “The Pitbull” Henry in cage helped trigger a fast break the other way, where “The Griz” slammed home the first goal of the season and the first against Poway in two years (They smoked us 5-0 last year). They were quick to answer with an unfortunate rebound off Mikey’s face to end the first quarter 1-1.

The 2nd quarter was a battle of defenses. With the likes of Ryan “Tree Monkey” North, Dominic “The Wolf” Thomas, Adam “Rhino” Keaveney, Robbie “Crazy Coyote” Lewis and Ian “Tiger Shark” Ecklemen, the Poway attack could not get through. But it was a penalty on our goalie, “The Pitbull”, which changed our whole strategy. After a quick warm up, our back up keeper, Josh “Happy Feet” Marsaglia, took the stage and performed brilliantly. So much so, I decided to keep him in cage the rest of the game and put Mikey at midfield to help spell Hunter and “The Beast”. We were flagged for 2 more penalties this quarter, when “Tree Monkey” and Riley “Angry Bull” Sanchez took aim at a few heads; but the strength and power of the Scripps Man-down squad held strong going 3 for 3 in shutting out the Poway Man Up team. The 2nd quarter ended 1-1, with no one scoring.

The 3rd quarter found Poway coming alive with 10 shots to our 2. Young Joshua held up strong, allowing only one goal and snagging 4 saves (11 total for the game). Poway did miss the cage on a few point blank cranks which left them frustrated. There were many battles all around, but one comes to mind: I actually believe the Poway coach instructed all six of his players on the defense to jump “The Beast” when he tried to take it to the goal. He got past 5 of them, but lost his grip on his stick when the 6th guy got him. Amazingly enough, Sean just picked his stick back up with the ball still in it and kept on going. The quarter ended with Poway up 2-1.

In the 3rd quarter, there was some confusion as we had 7 guys on offensive with 3 mids and 4 attack. Fortunately, Poway was guilty of the same mistake and the refs let it go, as Garon “Thunder Guns” Deffley used his big brain and ran off the field. This allowed our attack to strike pay dirt, with Chris “The Sea Lion” Lapeyre (1G, 2A) popping in his first goal from wing man, Tyler “Cyclops” Sutton (1G, 1A). The excellent defensive efforts by all helped to maintain the score as the quarter ended 2-2.

In the 4th quarter, it was an endurance feast. Who could outlast who? As “The Griz” and “The Beast” were running out of gas, I was forced to throw in some fresh legs, and I chose the smallest on the team, Jacob “Road Runner” Marsaglia. It was a successful clear (12 of 16 for the game!) that sparked a chance for us to take the lead. An 'on-the-money' pass from Josh to his brother at the midline forced Poway to simply tackle the little guy, giving us a Man Up attempt. A time out was called, a play was drawn up, the whistle was blown and we promptly threw the ball out of bounds. With everyone in shock and standing around, Poway just ran it down field and scored. Just like that it was 3-2, and I broke the first clipboard of the season over my knee in disgust. We were running out of time. As precious minutes turned to seconds, some how a miracle happened. After countless tries at running the “Thin Lizzy” draw and dump all game, it finally worked. It was “The Sea Lion” who drove hard to the goal, forcing a double team and finding “Cyclops” Sutton for a quick stick shot and goal with 2 ticks left on the clock.

OVERTIME!!!

The Poway bench was stunned. The Scripps bench was going out of it mind! The first overtime proved to be tough. Both teams were putting it all out there. Poway called a timeout to organize a play similar to our “Foghat”, but not to be. “The Wolf” and “Rhino” never let them get a shot off.

Overtime #2. Scripps was on its heels again; and if it weren’t for a great save by “Happy Feet” in goal, it might have ended right there. Another successful clear got us to midfield when the loudest “TIMEOUT” call ever heard was shouted. A redesign of the “Thin Lizzy” was drawn up and ran to perfection. It was as if time stood still, as Chris wrapped around the goal in slow motion feeding a streaking Kyle “Corncob” Harries for a shot at the top corner of the cage.

GOAAAAAAAAL!

Scripps Wins!
Scripps Wins!

Everyone rushed onto the field and for some reason, separated into two piles. One with Josh on the bottom and the other one had Kyle chewing grass with bodies flying on top of him.

In closing, I couldn’t be more proud and amazed at the performance of our kids. We deserved this win. If this victory wasn't enough, The D1B boys followed suit with a 6-3 win of their own. Great job All around.

- Coach Smitty